Circuit City Leaves 22-Million-Square-Foot Hole

When the last Circuit City store closed Sunday evening, retail centers across the country were left with gaping holes.

The Henrico County-based chain had more than 22 million square feet of retail space as of February 2008, when it operated nearly 700 stores. Circuit City, which filed for bankruptcy in November, began closing stores last fall.

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The empty stores present a problem nationally in an economy that has hit retailers hard. Circuit City joins other chains, such as Linens'N Things, that have shut down.

C. Lee Warfield III, executive vice president of Richmond-based commercial real estate broker Thalhimer/Cushman & Wakefield, said there is some concern about filling that space locally. The vacancy rate in the Richmond market is more than 6 percent.